"The tone and spirit of the conversation were great." What Trump said after his call with Putin
US President Donald Trump said after a two-hour phone call with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin that he was ready to "back off" in talks between Ukraine and Russia if there was no progress. He made the remarks during an event honoring law enforcement agencies in the Oval Office of the White House.
Trump said that the Ukrainians are ready for a ceasefire, but he needs time to assess Kyiv's efforts to achieve this goal.
"I think he [ Volodymyr Zelensky ] wants to stop. But I could answer that question better in two or four weeks. I hope the answer will be that he wants to solve this problem," Trump said.
The American leader said he asked Putin when he would "stop this bloodshed" in Ukraine.
"It's a bloodbath, and I believe he [Putin] wants to stop it," Trump said.
He added that there are "very big egos" involved, but he is confident that "something will happen" in the context of a settlement of the war. Otherwise, if no progress is made, Trump promises to stop participating in the negotiations.
"...I'll just back off, and they'll have to keep going," Trump said.
He also said he would not tighten sanctions against Russia "because there is a chance" for progress.
"Because I think there's a chance to do something. And if you do that (Implement sanctions against Russia. – Ed.), you can also do a lot worse. But there may come a time when it happens," Trump said.
At the same time, the US president described his phone conversation with Putin as one that made "progress."
"It's a terrible situation there – 5,000 to 6,000 young people are dying every week, so hopefully we've done something. We've also spoken to the leaders of most of the European countries and we're trying to get this whole thing over with. What a shame it even started," Trump said.
In a post on his Truth Social platform after the call with Putin, Trump wrote that the conversation went "very well" and that Russia and Ukraine "will immediately begin negotiations on a ceasefire and, more importantly, an end to the war."
"The tone and spirit of the conversation [with Putin] were excellent. If it wasn't, I would have said so now, not later," he wrote.
Trump also said that Russia wants to do extensive trade with the United States when the war is over.
In addition to talking about Russia's war against Ukraine, Putin and Trump also discussed a prisoner exchange between the United States and Russia, which included a nine-for-nine exchange, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
- On May 19, US President Trump had a long phone conversation with Putin. It lasted more than two hours.
- On the same day, the leaders of Britain, Italy, France, and Germany called Trump ahead of his conversation with Putin.
- After talking with Trump, President Zelensky stated that Ukraine is not going to withdraw the Armed Forces of Ukraine from the four regions, as Putin had previously insisted on.
